Texas
by Paily31894
Summary: This is sort of my own creation based on the events in another fic, Red Velvet. I really recommend you read it! Plus mine won't make sense if you don't read it. This is my first fanfiction, so be gently but reviews are welcome!
1. Chapter 1

Emily groaned as she opened her eyes not quite knowing why she had woken up as the window to the room still showed the night sky. She shut her eyes pulling the blanket up to her chin and snuggled in to Paige's chest in preparation to get more sleep, and hopefully get rid of the slight pounding in her head.

"Paige, wake up."

Emily's eyes snapped open at hearing Paige's radio call for her somewhere from the other side of the room in her jeans that Emily had thrown the night before. Emily smiled softly as she remembered, her and Paige stumbling back from the commons car after vodka shots with Riley and Marlene. She remembered Paige slamming her into the wall outside of their room and stripping Emily of her shirt before they managed to make it into the room-

"Paige, we have a problem up here, get up before I come get you"

The radio sounded again, it was Peter and if Peter was up at whatever hour this actually was there must be a problem. Emily pushed the blankets back, her barely clothed body missing the heat instantly. Paige mumbled something incoherent and tried to pull Emily closer to make up for the missing heat. Emily gently placed a kiss to Paige's forehead.

"You're needed at the front of the train love", Emily whispered.  
"Tell them to call Peter, he can take care of it" Paige whined into Emily's neck, tightening her grip around her waist.  
"I would, but Peter's the one calling for you, he's already up there."  
"Fuck", Paige mumbled placing a kiss on Emily's shoulder as she rolled out of bed putting on a T-shirt and underwear. "I'll be right back" she said grabbing the radio and stepping in the hall to talk to Peter.

Emily pulled the blankets back over her in Paige's absence even though she was wide awake now, she missed the heat of curling into her girl and being in the arms of Paige. She sighed as she looked towards the window where she could see the first streaks of pink hitting the morning sky, meaning it had to be just before 5 in the morning. Seeing the pink of the sky Emily groaned, her and Paige had stayed up late drinking in the commons car because there was no show today, they had planned to sleep in and then Paige wanted to try and teach Emily how to drive the bike again.

"What the fuck does the Army want with _my_ train and _my_ show?!" Paige yelled coming back into their room.  
"The Army?" Emily asked sitting up in bed.  
"The Army, they've got like four hummers up at the front of the train"  
"I know what the Army wants with your train and your show," whispered Emily.  
"You do?" Then it hit Paige. "Texas! We're in Texas, is that your dad out there?"  
"I don't know" Emily breathed jumping out of bed and slipping jeans over her bare hips in a way that made Paige want to take her back to bed. Emily finished getting dressed and grabbed Paige's hand as she ran out of the room both of them barefoot shoes to sprint to the front of the train as fast as they could.

Paige slipped her hand away from Emily's and fell a half step behind her. Meeting a girlfriends parents is always nerve-wracking, but Emily was so much more than a girlfriend to her. Emily was home, she was every sunrise and sunset and the only one she ever wanted to be with till the end of time. Paige slowed down, coming to an almost stop and she thought about this, gripping the E around her neck. It hit her, this was Emily, girl she wanted to be with for their own piece of forever and she was about to meet her parents. Of course she had seen Emily's parents around town while she was in high school but meeting them as the woman that was caring for their baby girl, Paige was more than nervous, she was just about terrified and then add the fact that Emily's dad was in the Army… well Paige put that to the back of her mind as she saw Emily jump out of one of the train doors.

Emily was elated as she turned out the door and saw her dad in heatedly talking to Peter in front of his giant Army hummer.  
"Dad!" She yelled as she ran through the grass and launched herself in to his arms. She couldn't help herself as she giggled and her dad twirled her around like she was seven again.  
"Where's mom?" she asked as her father finally set her down.  
"Right here" Emily turned to see her mother getting out of one of the hummers. Emily ran to hug her mom, unbelievably glad to have her whole family together as she was group hugged between both her parents. But she couldn't help that something was missing. Emily turned her head to look back at the train where Paige was smiling softly as Emily reunited with her parents.

Emily wiggled out of her parents crushing embrace and walked back over to the train and offered a hand to help Paige down. Watching Paige jump down, Emily could see the nerves in Paige and gave her shaky hand and give a reassuring squeeze. Emily leaned over to give her a peck on the cheek. "Relax, they already love you" Emily whispered.  
"Mom, Dad, this is Paige my girlfriend. Paige, meet my parents", Emily announced introducing the love of her life to her parents.  
"So you're the girl who cause my baby to ditch her hometown and runaway with the circus?" Boomed Mr. Fields  
"I, uh-  
"Yes, and I couldn't be happier" Emily giggled, shoving her dad and then put an arm around the waist of a stammering Paige. "Paige actually owns the circus Dad"

"Really, at such a young age?" Asked Emily's mom, clearly impressed.  
"Yes, my parents passed away a few years ago and I took the reins, not wanting to see my parents hard work die along with them", Paige stated regaining her confidence as long as Emily's arm was around her.  
"And she's done such a good job! I can't wait for you guys to see the show, we don't have one today it's just setting the tents up and practice today but there's one at noon tomorrow" Emily chipped in excitedly, always happy to brag about the work of her girl.  
"I'm not the only one who's done a good job, you're girl has an amazing act of her own in the show too" Paige informed the two, the pride she felt for her girlfriends act with Ember clear on her face.  
"You're in the show Em?" Her mom questioned "What do you do?"  
"Yea, you remember the horse that Paige so generously took for me? I'm riding him, but you'll have to come to the show to see what we do, but I want you guys to meet him later after the stables are set up. Oh! And you guys have to meet Paige's tiger, Stella!"  
"We can't wait, so what is your day look like today girls?" Her father asked.  
"I don't know, I'll have to ask my boss," Emily giggled and looked at Paige.  
Everyone laughed along with Emily and looked to Paige "Well because we arrived so early to the grounds and there isn't a show, there isn't really much to do, I'm letting everyone sleep in because I know most of the performers were up late in the commons car; but as long as the laborers get the tents and stables set up, that's really it. So as long as everything goes smoothly, Emily and I have the day off."

"Well seeing as it's quite early still and the rest of your crew is still asleep, Pam and I would like to treat you girls to breakfast in town if you're up to it." Mr. Fields replied.  
"That'd be great sir, do you mind if we got a chance to shower and put real clothes on? I just grabbed yesterday's when I thought there was a problem up here, and I probably smell."  
"Of course, there's a diner on main street we could pick you girls up in about an hour? I don't imagine you have a car to drive on that train-"  
"We don't have a car, but we can take Paige's bike dad!"  
"Bike!?" Pam asked nervously.  
"I have a dirt bike on the train, it makes for easy trips into town wherever we end up, but don't worry Emily doesn't drive it I tried to teach her once and well…. She's not the best." Paige said laughingly.  
"Hey! Maybe if I had a better teacher, we would have been fine, and it's not like we crashed-"  
"Only because I took control of the bike."  
"How about you girls go get changed and showered and meet me and Pam in an hour at the diner? Paige can drive her bike of which I'd like to hear Paige tell me more about how Emily almost crashed the two of you." He said while winking at Paige.  
"I'm sure you've probably got some equally good Emily stories that I'd like to hear as well", Paige replied while putting an arm around Emily.  
"Ugh, my dad and girlfriend have only just met and they're already swapping embarrassing stories about me", Emily mumbled.  
"You were the one who asked us to treat her like family Emmy" Pam said with a glint in her eye.  
"You did?" Paige said looking at Emily with a look of pure love.  
"Anyone who takes care of my baby girl as well as you obviously have is family in my eyes. Now go on, we'll meet you in an hour. And please give my apologies to Peter for being a problem, he was just annoying me when I just wanted to figure out if Emily was on the train or not." Mr. Fields said  
"Thank you, I intend to keep taking care of Em as long as she lets me, but she takes care of me too; if not more" Replied Paige, trying to remember why she was nervous to meet them in the first place.  
"We'll see you shortly" Emily said giving her parents a peck on the cheek before taking Paige's hand and walking back towards the train.

"You can breathe now Paige" Emily giggled, kissing Paige on the cheek, as they walked down the train back to her room. "My parents totally love you by the way."  
"I know, it was weird last time I met a girlfriends parents was Cassie and it didn't go that well"  
"Let's not talk about Cassie, let's talk about how you're going to keep caring me for as long as I let you" Emily grinned, opening the door to their room.  
"Or we could talk about how you want your parents to treat me like family"  
"Because you are family. Paige, what we have it's never going away. You pulled me from such a low place and I want to be there for you for forever", Emily whispered leaning close to touch the E on Paige's necklace "you are my forever, I love you" she murmured, leaning in and giving her girlfriend a soft kiss. Paige brought one hand up to Emily's cheek and the other up to tangle in the bed head that Emily was still sporting and tried to deepen the kiss by running her tongue along Em's bottom lip.  
Emily pulled back "As much as I like where this is headed, my parents are going to wonder where we are and I have no problem telling Marley or Riley what we were doing, I'm not ready for my parents to know how sex crazed my girlfriend is. Why don't you take the first shower and I'll pull some clothes for you to wear?" Emily giggled with a wink.  
"Or, we could cut the time in half and take one shower" Paige said hopefully reaching for Emily's hand.  
"Go." Emily said, laughing as Paige pouted.  
Paige huffed dramatically and walked towards the bathroom. Turning when she reached the door to the bathroom, "You're my forever too Em", Paige whispered staring back at Emily.  
"I know", Emily smiled "Now take a shower".

Paige was rinsing her hair, letting the water run over her face as she was mentally prepping for a breakfast with Emily's parents. They seemed nice enough and willing to welcome to Paige into their family but Paige needed it to be perfect. Paige loved Emily more than she's loved anything in her whole life, and wanted to make it official. She was actually hoping that she might get a chance to talk to Emily's parents alone and talk to them about marrying Emily, but she wanted them to know her first but it was hard having only three days in Texas and the next time she would see them would be Christmas in three months and Paige wanted to make it official as soon as she could, it was all she could think about lately. Especially after hearing Emily talk about their forever together.  
Paige jumped when she felt arms slide along her waist, but sighed as she felt Emily kiss her neck softly.  
"I thought there was going to be two showers" Paige smirked as she turned in Emily's arms.  
"I did, but then I started picturing you alone in here and naked" Emily whispered as she kissed the corner of Paige's mouth.  
"Well as nice as this is" Paige whispered, gasping as Emily nipped at the skin below her earlobe, "however, we have breakfast with your parents in a half hour." Paige grinned as she slipped out of Emily's arms and got out of the shower.  
"UGH" Emily groaned as she was left alone in the shower.  
"Hurry, up Em, we're going to be late for meeting your parents if you don't hurry!" Paige laughed as she dodged the washcloth being thrown out of the shower at her.  
"You're not getting sex from me for a week!" Emily yelled at her.  
"Enjoy lying in bed next to me while I satisfy myself then!" Paige yelled back.  
Emily smirked as she climbed out of the shower and toweled off and pulled Paige in for a soft kiss.  
"Let's go meet my parents"


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey Guys! So here's chapter 2, I think there's a lot of typos, so just bear with me, I think I like where the story's headed, but your reviews are always helpful!**

Riding behind Paige on her bike was a feeling Emily could never get used to. The ends of Paige's hair whipping all around her, Emily's hands nestled along Paige's flat stomach, their bodies flush up against each other; Emily almost couldn't get enough of it. She could both sit up and watch the scenery whip by or close her eyes and put her face along Paige's neck and breath in the smells of citrus and Paige, both options equally beautiful. Emily opted for the first option staring out at the landscape that her father had spent most of her teenage years and beyond at.

Emily had visited her father a few times in Texas over the years but usually avoided it because of the heat, and when she did come she wasn't focused on the surroundings, just her dad. But now, on the back of Paige's bike in mid-October and the sun just rising across the mostly barren landscape, Emily couldn't be more thankful for the little moments like this. As if the past couple of months with Paige hadn't been the best of her life, she now had her family in one town. Even if it was just for a few brief days, Emily couldn't remember the last time she felt so whole. And it was entirely thanks to Paige, Emily's parents knew she'd been unhappy for a long time and had encouraged her to get out of Rosewood, but Emily couldn't bring herself to leave the town and Ember behind. But here, with Paige and on her way to breakfast with her parents it just felt so right.  
Emily leaned in and kissed the skin of Paige's neck as they pulled into the diner, breathing in the smell that was Paige.  
"I love you Paige" Emily whispered as she climbed off of the bike reaching a hand out to help Paige steady herself as she swung her leg over.  
"I know" Paige reached for Emily's hand "we're late though and I don't really want to tell your dad that his baby girl tried to jump me in the shower"  
"You're so going to pay for that by the way" Emily giggled as Paige opened the door for her.

"Dad stop!" Emily moaned in embarrassment, they were deep into a breakfast of eggs sausage and toast and Emily was just about done with her dad retelling every embarrassing detail of her teenage life.  
"I think he should finish telling the story" Paige grinned at Emily "Please continue Mr. Fields," Emily put her head in her hands as her dad continued to tell Paige about the time she got in a fender bender and Hannah had tried to take the blame for her. But there wasn't really an excuse for Hannah to be driving the Fields family car.

The waiter came by and dropped the bill in the center of the table and both Paige and Mr. Fields reached for it. "Sir, please let me cover it it's the least I can do for you, letting Emily come live with me on the train"  
"Paige, really it's not a problem you've done so much for Emily let me get it"  
"You're not going to win Hun," Emily giggled reaching to hand her dad the bill and returning her hand to its place, lacing her fingers with Paige's below the table.  
"Fine, but dinner tonight is on me, you two will have to come out with some of us from the show" Paige said challenging Mr. Fields.  
"It's a deal" he chuckled at his daughter's girlfriend loving her more and more already. "So what are you girls up to now?"  
Paige glanced down at her watch. "I bet they'll be setting the tents up soon, we could take Stella and Ember out and let them stretch and watch the tents raise?"  
"Yes! I'm sure Ember is aching to get out after that ride. Mom, Dad, you'll come too? Watching the tents go up is beautiful, you'll love it. And I can't wait for you to meet Ember and Stella!"  
"Of course honey, but Stella and Ember together? Isn't one a horse and the other a tiger?" Pam asked nervously.  
"Yes, Stella's a tiger, but she's really a baby we let her and Ember hang out a lot."  
" I assure you everyone and all the animals are always safe to be around Mrs. Fields, and if the situation turns in a way we don't plan for, well we have procedures in place for that as well" Paige said gravely.  
"Paige has to carry a stun gun when Stella's out of her cage" Emily explained  
"I hate it" Paige whispered.  
"Well I think I'm ready to meet these two animals you ladies seem to love, and Paige I pray you never have to use that stun gun, how about we follow you girls on the bike?"  
"Sounds great mom" Emily said getting up from the table and reaching for Paige's hand.

Emily's mom walked behind the two girls waiting while her husband went to the counter to pay the bill, watching the couple hand in hand seeming completely at ease with each other as Paige said something that made Emily bust in laughter and hit her playfully in the shoulder before lacing her fingers with Paige's again.  
"It's been a long time since we've seen Emmy this happy, huh?" Wayne said softly as he placed a hand on his wife's shoulder.  
"Yes, I think Paige…. I think that, well we've only known her for a couple of hours but-"  
"She's the one for our baby girl, I can feel it. And so can you, but let's take the time and get to know the girl who has our baby's heart." Wayne pressed a kiss to Pam's forehead as they walked hand in hand out to the car to follow Paige and Emily back to the grounds.

Once back, they walked together to the end carts of the train where a laborer was just about to unload Ember and walk him to the stables.  
"Thanks, Tim, Emily's going to take Ember from here though, we will put him in the stables when we're done. Also we'll be talking Stella out too, so I'll just bring her to the stables too." Paige thanked Tim as he headed off to his next job. Emily picked up Ember's lead and brought him out of the cart to meet her parents. Ember nudged Paige in the shoulder as he walked by her, hard enough to make her stumble.  
"Brat!" Paige laughed turning to scratch him under the chin.  
"He doesn't like that I spend time with Paige and not all of my time with him" Emily laughed as she explained to her parents the misbehaviors of her horse. Ember leaned down to sniff at her parents eventually headed for the pockets of Mr. Fields Army cargo pants, "Ember! What has gotten into you!?" Emily exclaimed as her horse kept after the pants of her father.  
"Smart horse, Emily" her dad laughed, reaching into his pocket, "I napped some sugar cubes from the diner for him in case he didn't like me, though I don't think that's a problem" He held out his hand for Ember to finally get access to his prize.  
"Nice Mr. Fields, though I hope you didn't grab anything for Stella because she only like skittles" Paige said as they walked to find a place to sit.

"Skittles?" Mrs. Fields questioned.  
"I didn't know what I could steal from a diner for a tiger that wouldn't be noticeable so I'm empty handed for her" Mr. Fields laughed.

"But Stella doesn't eat the orange ones, which is why Paige always smells like oranges, because she eats them" Emily ducked her head, blushing as she realized that she shared an intimate detail about Paige with her parents.  
"Well where can we get some skittles for this tiger?" Mr. Fields said, not without notice of his daughter's embarrassment. Paige reached into her pocket and pulled out a Ziploc bag of skittles she always carried with her and tossed them to him.  
"I'll go get Stella", Paige said and walked back to the train to get her tiger.

"It's normal to be nervous to meet a Tiger, right?" Whispered Emily's mom looking visibly nervous.  
"Totally normal mom, I was terrified, but I promise that Stella is nothing but a big baby."  
"If you say so Emmy" Taking a deep breath Pam reached to pet Ember for comfort "I'd rather stick to horses though, this guys a sweetheart, other than his reaction towards Paige" she said laughing at how the horse had just about knocked Paige off her feet.  
"He's really possessive of me, I think he wishes that I slept in his train car rather than in Paige's room". Emily blushed, yet again she might as well have told her parents her and Paige were having sex.  
Not wanting to hear anymore of how his daughter was sleeping with someone Wayne cut it "Come on Pam, how often is it you get to meet a tiger that eats skittles, sounds pretty harmless to me."  
Emily threw a grateful look at her dad, for not questioning her sleeping arrangements on the train.  
"Trust me mom, you're going to love Stella" Emily said, spotting Paige making her way towards them with the great tiger.

"Okay, because there are two new people here for Stella, I want you to each take a skittle and come meet her one at a time so she can adjust", Paige said from a few feet away. Wayne pulled a few skittles from the bag and handed the rest to his wife as he started to slowly walk forward towards Stella, from about a foot away he held out his hand with the skittle for her to sniff, flinching as she snatched it right from his hand. "Perfect Mr. Fields, you can pet her if you want now" He reached out a hand and tentatively placed his hand between the tigers ears and scratched gently. "Amazing" He whispered, in awe of the clearly powerful creature melt to pieces as he continued to scratch her. He turned and reached out a hand for his wife who was turning a little pale.  
"Come on Pam, she's really harmless I promise"  
"I'm still not sure" she said. Paige just watched quietly, knowing this was something Emily's mom needed to do on her own, just like the first time Emily met Stella. She smiled to herself thinking just how much Emily and her mom were alike. She remembered Emily saying that her mom was terrible when she has just come out as being gay, but looking at their family now you wouldn't know it. It almost made Paige long for her parents again but she shoved those feelings down as soon as they appeared. These few days in Texas would be only happy ones and if everything went as she planned the girlfriend she came her with would be leaving here as her fiancé.  
Paige smiled even bigger as she watched Emily take her mom's hand and start to walk with her, ever so slowly towards Stella. When they were within touching distance, Em reached her hand out for Stella to sniff and fed her a skittle, laughing as Stella licked her hand looking for more. Paige watched the interaction and realized that she could listen to Emily's laugh forever it was as beautiful as she was.  
"Just do the same mom, I promise Stella's harmless", Emily encouraged her mom as Mr. Fields placed an encouraging hand on Pam's shoulder. She reached out and laid her palm flat and remained as still as she possibly could while the tiger sniffed her and then as if sensing Pam's fear as gently as she could picked the skittle out of her palm.  
"Good Girl Stella!" Paige exclaimed at how sensitive her tiger was. "You can pet her now if you want"  
More confidently this time Mrs. Fields reached out and placed her hand behind Stella's ear and began scratching gently. Laughing out loud when the tiger began to purr.  
"See mom! I told you just a big baby, just like the other lady in my life" Emily joked as she made eye contact with Paige over Stella. Paige was still trying to formulate a witty response that was parent appropriate when Mr. Fields cut in,  
"I feel like Paige is anything but a baby, seeing as she's the one who can actually drive the dirt bike" he said, putting his free hand on Paige's shoulder.  
"Thank you" Paige said. The touch of Ems Dad's hand on her shoulder was different, but she welcomed it and leaned into it, missing her own father's playful banter.  
"You're supposed to be on my side!" Emily whined "I'm your daughter you know", However Emily could help but approve of the banter between her girlfriend and her father, Paige had known them only a few hours but she fit so well into her family. It was perfect.  
"Paige is family now Em, there's plenty of love to go around" Pam laughed as her daughter pretended to huff in offense.  
"As much as I enjoy watching Emily struggle, let's go find a seat in the grass, the big top should be going up soon, it's probably my favorite site of the circus." Paige grabbed Stella's lead in one hand, and Emily's hand in the other as they led Stella and Ember to the outskirts of the grounds, Emily's parents following closely behind. Wayne and Pam shared a knowing look as they watched the two girls and their animals walk, it was visible just through their laced hands how right it was for them to be together.

Emily and Paige plopped down in the grass next to each and Wayne and Pam sat on the other side of Emily, while Ember grazed lazily behind them and Stella sat very much like a dog on the other side of Paige. They sat in silence for a while watching the tents go up, it really was magical to watch how a city of tents just popped out of the ground, just waiting for the crowds of people to come and fill the tents. After most of the tents were open Emily's dad tentatively asked "Can I feed Stella some more skittles?"  
"Of course you can" Paige tossed him the bag as he stood up and cautiously reintroduced himself to her.  
"She'll catch them if you toss them up in the air" Paige suggested, Stella could use a workout rather than being handfed candy. Wayne took a step back and gently tossed a purple skittle through the air for Stella. She caught it easily.  
"Throw them higher, she likes a challenge" Mr. Fields continues trying different heights and speeds, Stella never missed a beat and caught every single one of them.  
"What do I do with the orange ones?" He questioned  
"They're the ones Paige likes, so I'm sure she'd catch them if you threw them to her" Emily half joked, only realizing that between Paige and her dad nothing was a joke. But laughed even harder when her dad threw it way up in the air and Paige caught in her mouth without missing a beat.  
"I'm glad he finally has someone who'll play his stupid games" Pam said, laughing as well at her husband's antics. They continued like that for a while, Paige getting the orange ones and Stella getting all of the others, each toss more daring between Paige and Emily's dad. They were trying to perfect a particularly hard toss, when Mr. Fields threw a green one to Paige and Stella reached out a paw and swatted it away. Every one burst into laughter, knowing that the green skittles were for Stella only.

A phone ringing from the pocket of Emily's dad, interrupted their laughter as he stepped away from the group to answer it.  
"She's so well behaved" commented Emily's mom as she watched Stella flop back down next to Paige and shove her head in Paige's lap looking for attention.  
"Thank you" Paige said, scratching under Stella's chin.  
"Paige trained her all by herself mom, she's had Stella since she was a baby" Emily chipped in, wanting to show her girlfriend off to her mom.  
"That's quite impressive Paige!"  
"Growing up around the circus has taught me a lot of things, not always about the circus too" Paige said, ducking her head in embarrassment.

Mr. Fields made his way back to the group "that was the base, they need me back for something so I'm going to have to take a rain check on your dinner tonight Paige, but can we reschedule for tomorrow?"  
"Of course, I'm going to hold you to it" Paige said, standing to bid farewell to Emily's parents, Emily doing the same.  
"We'll be back for your show tomorrow at noon, Em" he said, giving his daughter a tight hug. He turned to Paige when she spotted her opportunity, to talk to Emily's parents without her nearby.  
"Actually, can I take you on a tour of my train before the two of you leave? Emily can bring Stella and Ember to the stables", Paige said already handing off Stella's lead to Emily. "Can you also make sure that Marley made the food run into town and help her with lunch?" Paige said to Emily, giving her enough to do that she wouldn't interrupt Paige while she talked to her parents.  
"I don't see why not" replied Mr. Fields.

Paige put her arm through Mr. Fields, and grabbed Pam's hand and quickly steered them towards the train before Emily had a chance to interrupt. Paige started at the back of the train and walked them up, showing them all of the train cars and what life on the train was like, even showing them what a standard bedroom would look like, avoiding her and Em's room though, as the clothes still lay where they were thrown last night. Once they had gotten the grand tour of the train, Paige took them to the couch that she and Emily had spent their second night on the train sleeping on.  
"I know, you were called back to the base sir, but I was actually wondering if I could talk to the two of you for a few minutes." Paige took a nervous breathe, but relaxed when Pam sat down and put a comforting arm around her.  
"Of course we have time Paige, you're our family too now." Wayne replied, a smile in his eyes as he sat down on the other side of his wife.  
"What did you want to talk to us about?" Pam asked, rubbing Paige's shoulder reassuringly.  
"Well, I know that you two have only just met me, and I couldn't be more thankful to meet you two, it's like being welcomed into the family I never knew I wanted. But, uh I know you don't know much about me yet, and I still want to get to know you better; but I love your daughter. Like really love Emily" Paige shrugged out from under Pam's arm, and started pacing, grabbing the E on her neck for comfort. "I was in a bad place after I left my last girlfriend, and I never thought I could be whole again, she did some really shitty things to me. But meeting Emily on our last stop in Rosewood, I just knew that I had to know this girl. When she asked me to take Ember with us, I could tell it was killing her to lose the thing that meant the most to her, and it was the least I could do for her. Leaving Rosewood was tough, I didn't feel that I was in a good place to let a girl into my life and planned to leave without her, but when Hannah brought Emily to the fairgrounds and she wanted to come with the circus, I couldn't deny her. Emily showed me how to be whole again, she's made me the best person I can be and I thank my lucky stars every morning that she's still here and some days I don't know why. But I guess what I'm asking or saying or I don't know, but Mr. and Mrs. Fields, I love your daughter and I want to love her for the rest of my life. We might live on a train and not really have a permanent home, but that's okay because Emily is my home, and I'm the same for her, so I would really like your blessing to ask Emily to marry me."

Paige took a deep breath as she stopped to look Emily's parents in the eyes, really hoping that she wasn't jumping the gun by asking for something so big so soon, but when she looked up and saw Mrs. Fields with tears streaming down her face, and a similar glint in the eyes of Emily's father. Paige couldn't help but smile.  
"You know, Paige it's funny because this morning at the diner, Pam said that even though we just met you, that you were the one for Emily, we could see it already." Mr. Fields stood, pulling his wife up with him.  
"Of course you can ask Emily to marry you Paige, I feel like you're my daughter already, and I want you to know that Wayne and I are here for you in the same way we are for Emily, for better or worse, you're with us now Paige" Pam threw her arms around Paige, and squeezed her as Paige returned the hug.  
"Have you picked a ring?" Mr. Fields asked  
"I actually have my grandmothers ring in a lock box in my office, I'm pretty sure it's Emily's size too"  
"I have one request then" Mr. Fields continued, "Can you ask her before you leave Texas?" He asked hopefully, wanting to see his baby with a ring on her finger before she left the town.  
"Of course I can" Paige said, elated at how well these two were welcoming her to the family. "I should let you get back to the base though" Paige leaned in for a hug from Mr. Fields and laughed when he picked her up and spun her just like he did with Emily earlier this morning. "I really can't thank the two of you enough" Paige said as she was set back down. Pam handed her a piece of paper  
"This is my number, I want you to call me tonight and we can brainstorm how you're going to ask Emmy."  
"Yes ma'am." Paige said, walking her future in-laws to their Army hummer, "I'll see you both tomorrow for the show?" Paige pulled out two red passes and handed them out "These will get you in and food from any of the booths"  
"We can't take these Paige" Pam said  
"Yes you can, think of it as my thanks for raising the girl of my dreams, and for missing dinner tonight" Paige winked at Mr. Fields.  
"Well, in that case, thank you for being the perfect girl for Emily" Mr. Fields said.

Paige was flowing with excitement, happiness and a little bit of nerves as she watched Emily's parents drive away. She had permission to ask Emily to marry her! Now she had to plan a perfect proposal, and pray that Em, would say yes.


	3. Chapter 3

Paige cautiously made her way towards the tent where lunch was being served, knowing that her girlfriend was going to ask questions about why she suddenly needed to get her parents an exclusive tour of the train. She saw that Emily was helping to serve lunch and chose to take the easy way out by just getting lunch and going to sit at the most crowded table she could find, so when Emily joined her she wouldn't ask too many questions in front of people. She just smirked at the questioning eyes Emily tried to give her over the buffet table, and laughed when Emily huffed and rolled hers when it was obvious that she wasn't getting anything from Paige right now.  
A few minutes later, Emily plopped down in the seat next to her leaning dramatically into Paige, burnt out from serving the whole show lunch.  
"Thanks for helping Marley", Paige said leaning over to give Emily a chaste kiss.  
"It's my pleasure, any reason my parents needed a private tour of the train from you?" Emily questioned  
"I just wanted to talk to them alone for a minute", Paige said mostly avoiding the questions  
"About?" Emily pressed not letting it drop  
"It's been a long time since I've had a parent figure in my life, and your parents were so welcoming to me, it wasn't something I was prepared for, I just thought I could benefit from a quick conversation with them" Paige rambled, hoping that would get her girlfriend off her case.  
"Fair enough" Emily seemed satisfied enough with Paige's response to her questions. "So what's in store for the rest of the afternoon?" Emily asked, a yawn escaping her mouth.  
"Well since you parents had us up early, I'm feeling quite similar to you so I think a nap is in store for us, and then I thought maybe we could skip dinner in town and work on that act you and I had talked about last week? I'm trying to set up an impromptu show for our last day here for just the army base."  
"Yes! A free show for the army would be perfect! And I'd love a chance to try our act out together!"  
Paige grinned at her girlfriends' excitement, sharing the girl's enthusiasm about an act with her Ember and Stella, a plan starting to hatch in her mind. However Paige couldn't hold her yawns in anymore, not getting any sleep the night before was really taking a toll on her.  
"Let's go" Paige stood, pulling Emily up with her and walking back towards the train for a nap. Emily leaned on Paige, letting her support her as they walked across the grounds looking forward for just lying in bed with her girl. Emily loved to stay awake and watch Paige sleep and hold the girl in her arms.

Upon entering the room, Emily kicked off her boots, stripped off her pants and unhooked her bra, leaving her in just a T-shirt as she crawled into bed opening her arms for Paige to come and lie with her. Paige laughed at Em, but stripped down to her grey thermal and crawled into bed and into the outstretched arms of her girlfriend, putting her head on Emily's chest and tangling their bare legs together beneath the large comforter as she put an arm around Emily's waist. Emily wrapped her arms around Paige and pressed a kiss to the girls head.  
"I love you Paige, and my parents totally do too" Emily mumbled drawing circles with her fingers up and down Paige's arm.  
"It's incredible really, I never thought I'd have people in my life again who I would think of as parents, but only after half a day I feel like they are"  
"I want you to think that Paige, whatever is mine is yours, including my parents; I don't know what you guys talked about earlier, but I hope they would tell you the same"  
"They did, your mom gave me a hug and told me that she felt like I was her daughter" Paige's voice caught at the end of the sentence.  
"Hey, Paige it's okay baby." Emily tightened her grip on Paige as she felt the tears start to drop on her chest.  
"I just wish you could have met them, my parents" Paige whispered sniffling a little bit as she tried to regain her composure.  
"Me too, Paige, I would have liked to meet the people responsible for raising the girl of my dreams and thank them for bringing such a kind, thoughtful, beautifully sassy girl into my life"  
"I forgot how much I missed them, until I met your parents this morning, your dad reminds me an awful lot of mine and I can see how much alike you and your mom are too" Paige said sitting up to look at Emily.  
"It's totally normal to be missing them Paige, and my parents are around if you want to talk to them about anything. They were incredibly helpful to me when Alison died in high school." Emily reached out to wipe the tears away from her girlfriend's face with her thumbs. "And I'm here too, I'm staying for the long haul Paige a couple tears aren't going to scare me away." Emily leaned in to kiss Paige gently and laid the two of them back down, wrapped in each other's embrace, Paige could have asked Emily to marry her right there but knew the plan she had in her mind would be better and she wanted Emily's parents around when she did it.  
"I really love you Emily" Paige said drawing patterns on the thin line of skin showing between Emily's underwear and her shirt. "You keep me whole even when I want to shatter"  
"You do the same for me Paige. My forever, remember?"  
"Forever", Paige mumbled sleep evident in her voice.  
"Get some sleep babe", Emily mumbled as she buried her face in Paige's neck breathing in the smells of citrus and thinking about her beautiful family as she drifted off safely in the arms of her girl.

Emily awoke some hours later when she felt Paige try to gently retract her arm that she had been using as a pillow for the duration of the nap.  
"How long have you been awake?" Emily mumbled, rubbing the sleep from her eyes, noticing Paige looked very much awake.  
"Not long, I promise."  
"You could have woke me up"  
"I couldn't, you look so peaceful when your asleep and I was thinking so you're not missing much on my end"  
"If you say so, where's your head at now Paige?"  
"I don't know, I love having your parents around and here, but at the same time it's like ripping open the wounds of what's missing from my life, my family built this circus and now I'm the only one left. What if I don't have someone to take the circus over after I'm too old to care for it? It would kill me to see my family's hard work die along with me." Paige paused thinking about how she wanted a kid or four to experience the circus like she had growing up and learning all of life's lessons through the performers just like Paige did. But what if that's not what Emily wanted? What if the circus was just a phase for her and she wanted to settle down after a couple of years on the road? Paige started to chew on her fingers nervously, there were so many things her and Emily hadn't talked about and here Paige was about to propose to her.  
Emily grabbed Paige's hand so she would stop chewing them "Are kids something you want?" she asked tentatively, with a hopeful glint in her eye.  
"Yes, what about you?" Paige said nervously  
"Yes, I want kids", Emily whispered bringing her other hand to cover their already clasped ones.  
"Kids? How many?" Paige asked hopefully, noting that Emily had used the plural and not just said 'a kid'  
"Undecided, at least two maybe more", Emily said.  
"How long will you want to travel on the train?" Paige asked hoping for more good answers.  
"As long as you're on it, we might have to readjust things if we have kids so they can go to school, or we could even home school them on the train here!" Emily said, her eyes lighting up as she thought aloud.  
"Easy there killer, we don't have to cross the bridge of how we're going to school our kids just yet, but I love picturing baby Emily and Paige's wreaking havoc on the train." Paige said leaning towards Emily.  
"How did I find someone so incredibly perfect for me?" Emily asked  
"I don't know, but I'm glad you did" Paige whispered closing the gap for a soft kiss. Paige pulled back and got out of bed and pulled her pants on, "Why don't we go get Ember and Stella and start practicing?" Emily hopped out of bed, dressed herself and followed Paige out the door of their bedroom and towards the stables.

Several grueling hours later, Emily and Paige made their way towards a food tent they could raid for a makeshift dinner. Before all of this Emily would have found an empty circus eerie and nerve-racking, but now Emily felt at home, it was actually nice to have the entire place for it to be just her and Paige, lazily walking through the tents hand in hand, both exhausted and almost had an act nailed down with the two of them.  
"I wish we had a better way to end it, everything else is perfect" Emily muttered frustrated that the two of them couldn't come up with something better.  
"That's why we're debuting it at an impromptu show, we can just roll with it if one of us comes up with an idea" Paige said, already formulating plans for an alternate ending to their act.  
"I know but it'll be my dad and all his friends there I want it to be perfect"  
"It will be, trust me, you and Ember are perfect in it" Paige said  
"Stella's pretty amazing too" Emily said smirking as she stepped behind a corndog booth to make some for herself and Paige. Paige plopped down on an empty milk crate inside the tent.  
"Just Stella?" She asked, feigning hurt in her face.  
"Well I guess I've got a girlfriend that works with the Tiger who's pretty perfect too" Emily said blushing as she dropped two corndogs into the fryer for herself and Paige.  
"I don't know if I believe you, I feel like I'm an afterthought" Paige said she challenged Emily, barely able to keep a straight face.  
"Fine, then I guess I just cooked dinner for myself" Emily yelled as she pulled both the corndogs out of the fryer and ran with them. Paige stood and took off after her, chasing Emily through the maze of tents "Emily Fields! You get back her right now" Paige yelled at her retreating body. But luckily years with the same layout of tents at the circus had taught Paige a few tricks and she veered left while Emily kept running straight ahead. Paige picked up her pace and made a few more turns knowing where Emily would come out and came to a halt just around the corner. Paige could here Emily's footsteps slow to a walk as she must have thought she had been able to ditch Paige.  
Paige stepped into the shadows, so Emily wouldn't notice her and did her best not to laugh as Emily walked right by her. Paige crept out and snuck up behind Emily as quietly as she could. Just as Emily was about to turn around Paige rushed forward grabbing Emily around the waist and threw her over her shoulder and took off into the big top tent.  
Emily shrieked, laughing uncontrollably as her girlfriend ran with her into the biggest tent, setting her down finally in the center of the Main ring.  
"Can I have my corn dog now?" Paige asked smirking, knowing she'd won.  
"Fine, but how did you beat me to the corner?" Emily said handing over Paige's prize.  
"A secret I shall never tell" Paige giggled sitting down and pulling Emily onto the ground beside her.  
"Whatever" Emily said jokingly.  
"I've got to keep some secrets about the circus so I can come up with ways for our kids to torture their mother" Paige said with a wink. Emily laughed and blushed as she thought about her and Paige having kids together, the thought warming her whole body.  
"I'm going to go get an ice cream, do you want one?" Emily asked standing back up.  
"Jeeze you ate that fast" Paige said, barely halfway through her own corndog.  
"Well if my boss hadn't worked me so hard, I wouldn't be so famished" Emily joked walking away.  
"Get me one!" Paige yelled after Emily.  
Paige pulled out her phone knowing this was the only chance she would have to talk to Emily's mom tonight.

_Hey, I don't think I'm gonna get a free moment from Em tonight, she's suspicious after earlier. Meet me backstage during intermission tomorrow? Emily will be busy with a costume change. I think I have a really good idea that you and Mr. Fields will love._

Paige slid the phone into her pocket just as her girlfriend was returning with ice cream for two.


	4. Chapter 4

The next day was a whirlwind of activity, Marlene stealing Emily immediately after breakfast, something about a new costume she absolutely had to have and of course Emily went willingly. Which Paige was supposed was okay so she could go through checks with Riley undistracted before the noon start of the show. Paige was also boiling with excitement about being able to tell Emily's mom her plans for a proposal. She hadn't shared with anyone other than Emily's parents her plans for Em because she wanted it to be a surprise for the whole show. Marlene had practically been begging her to propose since Emily stepped foot on the train. Paige was pretty sure her plan was perfect but still needed to get it off her chest, it was eating her up inside, trying to keep something this big from Emily but Paige knew it was essential. She had taken the ring out of the lockbox in the office this morning when she was doing paperwork and knew Emily was busy with Marlene and just looked at it, picturing everything the ring represented. Everything that Paige and Emily were and everything that they would be, their forever together. Paige had practically cried just holding the ring, she was going to have to work really hard to keep it together when asking Emily, but in order for it to be perfect, Paige knew she could do it.

Paige smiled as she saw Emily making her way across the tent with two pretzels in her hand.  
"I figured that you haven't had anything to eat yet so I grabbed one for you" Emily handed her a pretzel as she leaned in for a quick kiss.  
"You figured correctly, thank you", Paige took a bite of the pretzel. "So Marlene has a new costume for you?" Paige inquired, knowing that something had been in the works but no one would tell her anything.  
"It's incredible, but I think I'm going to save it for our act at the impromptu show tomorrow"  
"Is there anything I should wear to match it?"  
"Nope, your red velvet jacket is perfect" Emily said, giggling as she threw Paige a suggestive wink.  
"Don't you wink at me, you're the one who won't give me sex for a week!" Paige joked thinking back to yesterday morning when she left Emily by herself in the shower. That had taken a lot of self-control.  
"Maybe if you work for it, I could make an exception." Emily said touching a hand to Paige's shoulder suggestively.  
"Too bad, we've got a show to put on", Paige shrugging out of her touch and pointing to the people starting to fill the stands in the big top.  
"You kill me Paige!" Emily said laughing.  
"I try" Paige said leaning in to peck Emily on the cheek before walking away, more like strut away, knowing that Emily would be watching and extremely frustrated with her to complete her pre-show rounds. Normally Paige would have given in as the drop of a pin, if Emily wanted to have sex but Paige figured if she could hold off until after she proposed it would be that much better tomorrow night when the train left Texas. Paige tried to focus on finishing her checks, but in truth she couldn't wait until intermission to talk to Emily's mom, and help her plan the last couple of details of the perfect proposal for Emily. Paige couldn't give Emily anything better than perfect because that's what Em was, prefect.

Emily watched Paige walk away almost positive that she was swinging her hips like that on purpose, like she knew Emily would be watching her until she was out of sight.  
"You should close your mouth when you stare, Hun", Emily jumped out of her skin spinning to see her mom standing next to her. Emily immediately felt her face begin to heat up, having been caught staring longingly at her girlfriend.  
"I.. uh, morning mom" Emily stammered out.  
"Relax, Emily; I understand what it's like when you meet that person." Her mom smiled warmly at her and glanced to where her husband was saving them seats, in the center of the front row.  
"Listen, mom? I know you've only just met Paige and I don't know what she said to you guys yesterday but I love Paige, like she's the one I want forever. And I know you don't know her well and me joining a circus it's a whole lot to take in, but getting approval from you and dad means a whole lot to me, more than I know how to express, so while I know my life now seems crazy I really appreciate you and dad being open to all of this." Emily finished rambling and looked up at her mom who was quietly chuckling.  
"Relax Em, you're father and I love Paige; and while I was taken aback that you joined a circus I could hear how happy you were when you called me and told me that. And seeing you here confirms it. Your dad and I can practically see the love that radiates between you and Paige don't worry about us, we're always behind you Emily, even if you are living on a train." Emily's mom chuckled.  
Emily rushed her mom with a hug. "Thank-you she whispered, you don't know how much that means to me."  
"We want the best for you, and I think it's Paige", her mom said with a twinkle in her eye.  
"Thanks mom" Emily backed away from her mom. "Mind if I sit with you for the first part of the show? I don't come in until after intermission"  
"Your dad and I would love that"  
"Okay, let me just tell Paige I normally stand with her backstage."  
"Here she comes actually", Mrs. Fields pointed across the tent to where Paige was making her way over. Emily's breathe was always taken away whenever she saw her girl dressed and ready to go for a show. She had the Velvet jacket draped over her arm, but the way Paige was carrying herself you could tell it was show time. Emily tried to control herself in front of her mother as Paige approached them and her mouth went dry.  
"Mrs. Fields!" Paige cried when she saw Emily's mom. Paige leaned into a warm hug with her girlfriend's mom before turning to give her girlfriend a kiss on the cheek. "Did Mr. Fields make it?" Paige glanced around trying to figure out where Emily's dad was.  
"He's saving seats for him and my mom, I think I'm going to sit with them for the first half of the show if you don't need anything done?" Emily asked.  
"Go, spend time with you parents; just don't give all of the circus secrets away to them" Paige said with a wink. "I guess I'll see you after the show then because you have a costume change during intermission, right?"  
"Yea, I'll meet you in the stables? I want to make sure Ember gets a good cool down so he doesn't cramp up for the impromptu show tomorrow."  
"Okay, I'll see you then." Paige leaned in for another quick kiss, very conscious of the fact that Emily's mom was still standing there. Paige straightened up and gave a quick hug to Mrs. Fields, "I'll see you after the show too?"  
"Of course Paige" Emily's mom, trying to keep a straight face and let her meeting Paige during intermission stay a secret. Emily grabbed the velvet jacket from Paige's arms and helped her shrug into it.  
"Go get em babe" Emily whispered straightening the girls collar out before retreating with her mother to the center of the audience to sit with Mr. Fields.  
Paige took a deep breath and a moment to compose herself before she signaled through the radio that she was ready to start.  
"Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls welcome!" Paige yelled stepping into the center of the ring. She glanced to see Emily entranced by her, but looked away quickly before she got too distracted.  
Pam glanced sideways to watch her daughter watch Paige in the center of the ring. The joy and excitement on Emily's face from watching Paige in the ring was incredible. It was like Emily was five again, begging her mom to pay to let her on the pony rides at a festival in town. Her face lighting up with excitement when she finally paid to let her on, that was exactly what Emily looked now, lit up with excitement like she was about to ride the ponies for the very first time. Paige was gone from the stage now, but the excitement on Emily's face stayed at the same level as clowns danced across the stage and someone was up on the high wire way up above the ring. Pam looked to where Paige stood in the shadows backstage and studied the girl who captured her baby's heart. Paige was talking quietly into her radio while watching the stage intently. Pam couldn't believe that all of this was coordinated by Paige, even if a circus was an unusual life path Paige had certainly perfected it and it was amazing how well Emily fit into the circus. Pam watched as Paige signed off of her radio and shifted her gaze to watch Emily, Paige smiled softly at Emily who was still enthralled in the circus, currently watching the burlesque girls come out and launch into what was presumably the last act before intermission. Pam shifted her gaze back to watch the girls sing, she stood along with Emily, her husband the rest of the crowd and burst into applause at the end of the act.

Pam waited for Emily to head off to change before she got up and made her way backstage to find Paige. Paige grabbed Mrs. Fields hand and pulled her into the shadows between the big top and the food tents.  
"Sorry for the weird location, I want it to be a surprise for the whole show tomorrow. Plus everyone around here has a really big mouth so I can't take any chances of someone overhearing."  
"I totally understand Paige, now tell me your idea, I want to know everything." Pam gushed excitedly.  
"Okay, well you know that we're putting on a free impromptu show for the base tomorrow?"  
"Yea"  
"Well Emily and I have plans to debut the act we're working on there. It's really an incredible act with me, her, Stella and Ember; however we don't really have a good ending for it and that makes Emily incredibly frustrated and nervous. I've sold her on the fact that it's an impromptu show which leaves room for mistake and we're going to roll with it because we kind of came up with a closing. What I haven't told her is that I'm moving our act to be the grand finale of tomorrows show and while she's doing the circles towards the center of the ring like we planned, I'll already be there waiting on one knee where I'll ask her to marry me."  
"Paige, it's perfect." Pam hugged her future daughter in law.  
"You and Mr. Fields will be front and center again, right?" Paige said suddenly nervous about tomorrow.  
"Of course we will Paige, don't be nervous either Emily loves you."  
"Thank-you, seriously, you've been the best to me and I love that, I'm so happy that you've welcomed me into your family." Paige smiled at Emily's mom. "I need to go get Stella ready for our act now, but I can't wait for you to see Emily and Ember's act. I'll see you and Mr. Fields after the show? I'd like to take you guys to dinner with the rest of the show"  
"Of course Paige"  
Paige gave Mrs. Fields another hug before the parted ways as if the conversation never happened, both unbelievably excited for tomorrows show.


	5. Chapter 5

"Emily, that was incredible!" Mr. Fields cried out, working his way through the crowds to where his daughter stood with her horse.  
"Incredibly nerve wracking" Emily's mom added "You jumped through fire! I was so nervous for you and Ember"  
"Relax mom, Ember and I have had a lot of practice, plus Riley and Peter are always on standby incase anything happens. But it won't, I completely trust Ember and he trusts me."  
"I could tell, it was like the two of you were one riding around the ring" Mr. Fields added admiring the horse his daughter was leaning on. "And Paige and Stella were amazing, they work so well together."  
"They also made me nervous" Pam laughed. "If this is what the two of you are doing separate, I'm already nervous for tomorrows act with both of you together." Pam half joked.

"Paige told you!? I wanted it to be a surprise!" Emily said, already looking for Paige in the crowd to yell at her.  
"Relax she didn't say what you were doing, just that you guys had prepared something. And if I know the two of you like I think I do, it's probably something extremely dangerous." Pam laughed at her exasperated daughter.  
"Okay, and don't worry about the danger mom, Paige and I have been practicing for a long time nothing will go wrong tomorrow"  
"So it is dangerous?"  
"Maybe" Emily smirked at her mom. While her dad laughed, of course it was going to be dangerous, it was the circus and they were doing an act with a Tiger and a horse, and probably fire.

"Hey!" Paige called as she worked her way through the still lingering crowds, pausing to talk and take pictures with small children as they excitedly called out to her. Emily smiled as Paige crouched down to take a picture with a little girl who couldn't be any older than four and easily made the girl laugh and smile her biggest smile for a picture that the girls mom was taking. Paige was great with the kids, and it made Emily unbelievable happy. Paige finally made it all the way to Emily and her parents and scratched Ember under the chin before putting an arm around Emily.  
"Great job out there, babe"  
"You both were fantastic and I can't wait for tomorrows show" Mr. Fields said.  
"Thanks dad, none of it would be possible without Paige and all of the hard work she does for the circus" Paige ducked her head at the compliment her face turning red. "What do you say we put Ember back and gather the crews to head out?" Emily said, enjoying the red on her girlfriends face.  
"That sounds great, Em. Mr. and Mrs. Fields you'll be joining us, right?" Paige responded, gaining her composure.  
"If Emily doesn't mind having us around, we'll join you." Pam responded.  
"It's totally cool mom, everyone should be tame tonight because there's another show tomorrow, actually if you guys know of a good bar around here, that would be helpful" Emily finished, knowing her parents would know the town way better than anyone on the train would.  
"Yea, we know of a bar that's pretty good and within walking distance."  
"Perfect, that will do well for the group since no one is normally fit to drive home after these sort of outings." Paige said, warning Emily's parents.  
"We probably won't stay too long tonight, I've got early details in the morning to prepare for the whole base to be able to come to the show tomorrow afternoon" Mr. Fields said.  
"Probably for the best anyway, but we'd love to have you through dinner, once Riley starts the drinking, that's when it gets out of hand" Emily said. Secretly glad her parents weren't going to stay the whole time, she was worried what they'd think if they saw how out of hand some of them got with the alcohol.  
"So what time is dinner?" Mrs. Fields inquired  
"Well everyone has a couple of post-show details to take care of and then we normally head out, so probably in an hourish, some people will change most keep their show clothes on" Paige said. "I've taken the liberty of handing off mine and Ems though so we could spend more time with you guys, everyone was more than willing to help out."  
"You didn't have to do that, I'm sure we could have entertained ourselves while you two did your jobs" Pam said.  
"Nonsense, I wanted to. I know it's been months since you've seen Emily, and I'm really enjoying to get to know you." Paige stated leading them back to the train. Emily's heart swelled at hearing how much Paige enjoyed the company of her parents. Especially knowing how knit picky Paige usually was about post-show duties, she knew it was a lot for Paige to give them up, which only made Emily love her more for wanting to spend this time with her parents. They made their way to the commons car where Paige stepped behind the bar and pulled out a bottle of wine she had hidden back there. Once everyone had a glass, they made their way to the couches and all sat down. For a while, no one said anything. Emily was had herself curled into Paige, who sat with an arm around Emily and her legs crossed, vividly aware that her hand was not to travel past Emily's shoulder with her parents seated across from them. Pam and Wayne sat side by side, comfortably with their hands intertwined between each other.  
"I just want to say how nice this is" Emily finally broke the peaceful science. "Having my parents and my girlfriend together, it's perfect. I'd be lying if I said wasn't nervous for my parents to meet Paige, I can't remember why I was nervous because everything just seems to click. We can sit her in each other's presence and not have to fill it with talk, it's peaceful and I love my family. All of you." Emily finished, setting her empty glass of wine on the floor and leaning her head on Paige's shoulder.  
"We agree Em, your mom and I couldn't be happier to see you like this, it practically glows off your face how happy you are on this train and with the circus, with Paige. And as long as you manage to drop through Texas every once in a while, we're as happy as can be." Mr. Fields finished looking towards the couple in front of him.  
"Thank you sir" Paige said, tightening her grip around Emily. The comfortable silence resumed and everyone continued sipping their wine, just enjoying being in each other's company, all too aware that their time together would end tomorrow.  
"Paige! Emily! I swear if you two are having sex again instead of heading to the bar with us- oh. Um. Hi. Mr. and Mrs. Fields." Riley stumbled over his words as he entered the train car and saw Paige and Emily along with Emily's parents in the car. "Um, the rest of the crew is walking to the bar you guys suggested in five minutes if you want to join us" Riley quickly made his exit from the train car, tripping as he tried to maintain his composure. Emily buried her flushed face in Page's neck, while a blushing Paige stared at the ground, both girls unsure what to say.  
"I mean you're both consenting adults in a committed relationship, sex comes with the territory. It might be more information than I ever needed to know, but I'm glad you girls are enjoying each other" Pam said tentatively. Emily peeked out from Paige's neck and saw that her parents were equally embarrassed by Riley's outburst and took a deep breath, completely extracting herself from Paige and grabbing her hand to pull her up from the couch.  
"Well I think that everyone here is now mortified, why don't we just forget that happened and head out to walk to the bar with the others" Emily said tentatively.  
"Excellent idea", Mr. Fields said rising from the couch.

Paige and Emily stumbled back slowly, hand in hand from the bar. Everyone else was still drinking, but they had decided to leave while they were just pleasantly tipsy and wanted to enjoy the cool Texas air alone. The sky of the Lone Star state in the dark was littered with thousands of stars and an almost full moon giving the girls plenty of light as they walked down the center of the road back towards the grounds. Their silence was comfortable, both mulling over the surprisingly great dinner that had just happened with the Fields and the entire show.

Riley had seated himself as far away from the Fields as he could, feeling the glare Paige was giving him without needing to look up. He knew he'd never hear the end of this from either girl. Other than Riley the rest of the show loved the Fields. Marlene had sat right next to Mrs. Fields and chatted her ear off the entire time, apparently when Emily had given her mother's number to Marlene, they had been texting back and forth quite a bit and were extremely excited to finally meet in person. Mr. Fields had actually struck up conversation with Peter, apologizing for the ruckus they had caused the previous morning, showing up with Army hummers and they appeared to be deep in debate about who knows what. Emily and Paige just sat back and enjoyed the scene as Mr. and Mrs. Fields acquainted themselves with the rest of the people who lived on the train, loving how receptive everyone was of them and how genuine all of their conversations where. After dinner and two drinks, the Fields politely excused themselves from dinner, giving both Paige and Emily a hug and a promise they'd be front and center for tomorrow's impromptu show. Pam excitedly made eye contact with Paige at the mention of the show. The Fields then bid farewell to the rest of the show and stopped to pay their bill before departing. Apparently, paying their bill on the way out also meant ordering a shot of tequila for everyone in the company that still remained at the bar. Paige and Emily clinked glasses before downing their shot and decided to make their exit as well, three drinks and a shot in was plenty for the two girls.

The view of the circus on a clear night like tonight was absolutely breath taking, a small city of tents lit up by the stars was beautiful as the girls made their way back towards the train. Emily turned and leaned against the side of the train to observe the circus, rather than climbing the stairs into the train. Paige stood observing Emily who seemed to really deep in thought.  
"Where's your head at Em?" Paige asked as she brushed a couple of hairs out of Emily's face.  
"I've just been thinking about all of this, the circus, my parents, you." Emily said softly, as she reached down to lace her fingers with Paige's.  
"Yea?" Paige inquired hoping Emily would share more.  
"Yea, six months ago someone asked me what my plans were I would have told them that I planned to keep working at the stables and doing the same boring thing every day. And getting embarrassingly drunk every single weekend, which isn't really a life. I was living without actually living. But then you came into town and Hannah made me ask to leave with you, and everything just seemed to click. I would have never imagined I'd be in a traveling circus, but it feels so right to be her. With you, and my parents are so cool and accepting of the fact that we live on a moving train and I'm just so incredibly in love with you Paige." Emily finished, a tear leaking out of the corner of her eye. Paige brought a hand up to caress Emily's face and brush away the tear with her thumb.  
"I love you too Emily" Paige whispered, before leaning in for a soft and tender kiss. Paige brought her other hand to Emily's waist, and pulled her a little bit closer and focused on sending all of the love she had for Emily through that one kiss.

When they pulled apart, Emily glanced away bashful about her emotional outburst, but Paige put a hand under Emily's chin and gently brought her eye contact back to Paige.  
"Don't look away Em, I am so in love with you." Paige said and leaned in for another quick kiss "What do you say we head to bed sweetheart?"


	6. Chapter 6

**Here it is, the last chapter folks. I could honestly write this story forever but because I stole the plot from another amazing author, I'm going to end it here. Reviews and other prompts are welcome!  
XXX Liz**

"You want to what!?" Emily exclaimed jumping up from the breakfast table. "We don't even have a good ending!"

"Relax, Em. The ending we practiced isn't perfect, but its good enough our act is going to make the perfect finale for today's show, it's an impromptu show. Everyone in the audience knows that it's not going to be a perfect show and they're your parent's friends so they're going to love you no matter what."  
"If you say so" Emily said, clearly still nervous at the prospect of their incomplete act being the ending of today's show.  
"I do say so, and I also say that you need to not worry about it, you and Ember are brilliant and Stella and I work great with the two of you." Paige said grabbing Emily's hand to reassure her. "Now I need to go with Peter and run through pre-show checks with them, but I'll see you backstage? Or do you want to sit with your parents again?"  
"I'll be backstage with you." Emily squeezed Paige's hand and leaned in for a kiss. "I'm going to take Ember for a jog so he's all warmed up for today, I'll see you backstage in an hour." Emily stated as she dropped Paige's hand and started to walk away.  
"Hey Em?" Paige called out  
"Yea?" Emily said turning around.  
"I love you" Paige said  
"I love you too" Em smiled and kept walking, knowing that Paige was watching her retreating form.  
Damn. While Paige didn't like to see Emily walk away, watching those hips was at least a benefit of Emily walking away. Paige watched her until she was out of site before heading off to find Peter. Paige also couldn't deny that she was nervous about the act that her and Emily had planned but for totally different reasons than Em so she couldn't let her know. Paige took a deep breath as she rounded the corner to find Peter, slamming right into him.  
"Hey, easy there Paige!" Peter cried, helping Paige to steady herself.  
"Sorry, I'm just a little on edge today Peter" Paige said taking a deep breath  
"Why? Emily's parents love you, is it the new act? You've never been nervous about a new act before." Peter inquired, immediately concerned for his friend.  
"It's something like that, I've been trying to keep it a secret but keeping things from Emily is a hundred times harder than I thought it would be." Paige said, relieved to get some of it off of her chest.  
"What? Why are you keeping a secret from Emily?" Peter asked. As soon as the words were out of his mouth his eyes widened as he pulled Paige away from listening ears, "You're going to propose to her aren't you!?" Peter exclaimed excitedly. Paige ducked her head.  
"Yea" Paige whispered. "I asked her parents' permission and everything"  
"Shut up McCullers! How are you going to ask?"  
"Well I wanted it to be a surprise for the whole company, but actually I could use you're help if you're up to it."  
"Yes, anything for you two."  
"Well I've moved our new act to be the grand finale today and we have a practiced ending and it's actually kind of terrible, but I have an alternate one where I'm going to ask her and that will be the real finale of the show. So what I need you to do, is when Emily starts circling the ring at the end and you see me go down on one knee in the center of the ring, put Emily's spotlight on me so I have both and I want you to switch the lighting from the reds we have planned for the act to the blue ones that make you feel like you're underwater, those are Emily's favorite."  
"Who knew you were such a romantic McCullers?" Peter joked punching Paige on the arm.  
"So you'll do it?" Paige asked hopefully.  
"Of course, now let's finish these checks so we can get this show on the road." Peter joked.  
The continued their round of the circus in comfortable silence, knowing that Paige needed the familiarity of pre-show rounds to settle her nerves.  
"So did you buy her a ring or-"  
"It's my grandmothers"  
"Good, I was hoping you would use that one" Peter said with a smile in his eyes, knowing how much that ring meant to Paige and what it meant for Paige to be giving it to Emily.

They made it backstage at the same time Emily was returning from her warm up with Ember. Emily tied his lead backstage and then made her way over to Paige, who was grabbing her red velvet jacket and about to slip in on, when she felt familiar hands helping so slide the coat over her shoulders, and pull her hair out of the collar and straighten it before the hands came to settle on Paige's hips and a soft kiss was pressed to her neck by those ever so perfect lips Paige had spent hours memorizing.  
"Hi" Paige breathed out, turning in Emily's arms so she could give her a proper kiss.  
"You ready to do this?" Emily asked, gesturing to the stands that were filling fast, Emily's parents already front and center giving them a wave when they saw the girls looking in their direction.  
"More than ready" Paige said, her mind on the ring inside of her pocket and how this was going to be the best show of her life. Not only were they giving back and providing a free show to the Army base and all the children that lived on the base but she would hopefully have a fiancé by the end of the show too.  
"I'm going to go say hi to my parents, and let them know I'm helping backstage and not sitting with them" Emily said, slipping out of Paige's arms.  
"Okay, show starts as soon as you get back" Paige said, letting her girl go.  
"Take a deep breath Paige." Peter whispered when he noticed Paige trying to still her shaking hands. "There is absolutely no way that girl is going to say no to you"  
"Thanks Peter" Paige said, slipping an arm through his for momentary comfort until she gained her composure seeing Emily making her way back from the her parents and the full stands. "Its show time" Paige gave Emily a peck on the cheek before stepping into the ring.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls alike, welcome to the McCullers circus! I am Paige McCullers and I'll be your ring master this evening." Paige took a little bow as the stands erupted in applause at the announcement. "I have a few things I want to go over before I bring out the first act. First I want to say what an honor it is to be preforming for the United States Army today and that I and my entire show would like to thank you guys for what you do every single day that allows us to do silly things like travel the country on a train with a circus. So from the very bottom of my heart, thank you for all that you do." Paige paused as a short applause and cheering erupted from backstage, her employees honoring the soldiers that were present in the stands. "Secondly, this is what we call an impromptu show which means some of the acts you'll see are the very first time they are being performed live, and in even some of our most seasoned acts we might try and add in something new, so if anyone of my employees messes up or falters today I want you to give them the biggest applause you can because it takes a lot of courage to do something new in front of such a large crowd." Paige paused, glancing at the Fields, who were already on the edge of their seats in the front row. "So what do you say we bring out the first act?!" Paige boomed, stepping aside as the clowns ran out into the ring and the trapeze artists started to work their way across the ring.

The first act went off without a hitch, even when Marlene and the burlesque girls tried some new things, there wasn't a single problem and the crowd exploded when they finished signaling the end of the first act. Paige gave Emily a soft kiss on the cheek before she headed off for her costume change knowing that the next time they would see each other would be from opposite ends of the ring for the grand finale.  
"I love you so much Emily" Paige whispered, looking Emily in the eyes before she walked away.  
"I love you too Paige" Emily replied before walking away, not really able to shake the weird feeling she got, Paige was never so affectionate during a show, she was usually focused and business only.  
Paige sat on a stool back stage, hand in her pocket fingering the ring hidden within.  
"Paige?" she jumped when she heard the deep voice of Wayne Fields behind her.  
"Hello sir" Paige said, when her heart returned to her chest.  
"You don't have to be so formal with me Paige, you're practically family" He chuckled.  
"It's not official yet" Paige said sort of passive aggressively.  
"I have no doubt in my mind that she will say yes. Which is why I came back here to talk to you, I don't want you to be nervous about asking her. You have mine and Pam's full support we've only known you for two and a half days, but it's painfully obvious that you're the one who's supposed to be with my little girl. I already feel like you're my daughter" He said, echoing the words his wife had said two days earlier. "For the first 16 years of Emily's life I was wondering what boys I would have to beat off my front porch, and it never occurred to me that it would be girls I would be fending off, and I know it took Pam and I longer than it should have to make the adjustment and come to terms with that notion," Mr. Fields voice caught a little bit, regret obvious in his voice, "But watching you and Emmy these past few days, I can't ever picture her with anyone else and I don't want to, because you are perfect for her Paige."  
"Thank-you, It really means a lot to me" Paige whispered, leaning in for a hug from her future father in-law.  
"Any time Paige, I'm only a phone call away if you ever need anything. Same for Pam as well. I suppose I should get back to my seat and get my tissues ready for the grand finale, Pam won't tell me anything about it." Wayne said with a wink.  
"I'm going to need you to save a tissue for me too" Paige laughed.  
"Only for happy tears."  
"They're the best kind" Paige said as Mr. Fields started to make his way back through the crowds to his seat.

Once everyone in the audience was settled, she sent the cue for Emily to start her act with just her and Ember and then made her way back towards the stables to get Stella for her solo act, knowing she didn't need to be around because Emily's solo act was perfect. And watching her girlfriend jump through hoops of fire made her nervous. Stella and Paige went on directly after Emily, where Paige decided to go with the typical tiger and ringmaster act, pretending to make Stella incredibly upset and then sticking her head inside of the Tiger's mouth to the applause of the audience. After Paige and Stella's act, there were two more short ones before the finale. Paige had already handed off her radio to Peter and told him to handle everything so she could focus on her coming act with Emily.

When the crowd burst into applause and the acts had cleared the stage, Paige gave the signal for Stella to pad out gently to the center of the ring. Where she stood, facing the crowd. Ten second later, Emily and Ember burst into the ring. Paige felt her mouth go dry when she saw Emily, she knew that there was plans for a new costume for Emily in the works, but boy Marlene had really gone all out for Emily. Paige felt her mouth drop a little bit when she realized why she like the costume Emily had on so well, it was the exactly the same color of a blue lace bra Emily owned, Paige's favorite. Paige managed to compose herself and paid attention to Emily and Ember who were making a bee line straight for Stella, Paige watched intently as Emily and Ember gained speed, smiling when she heard the crowd gasp thinking that Ember would run over Stella however they then jumped over Stella like she was nothing and the crowd burst into cheers. Emily and Ember didn't stop until the other side of the ring where Paige stepped into the ring and jumped onto Embers back behind Emily, Stella still standing like a statue at the center of the ring. They did a lap on Ember before turning and heading for Stella again and clearing her yet again. However as Ember was just about to land, Paige flipped off his back and landed in the dust right next to Stella, bowing as the crowd erupted into cheers. Paige gave the signal for Stella to circle the ring in the opposite direction as Emily, and stepped back to the center of the ring as the hoop of fire dropped in the ring again, Emily and Ember alternated jumping through it with Stella as they both continued to pick up speed around the ring until they were both just a blur. At one point when it looked like they would collide right in the hoop of fire, Emily flattened herself along Embers back and this time Stella cleared them, avoiding a collision.

Paige pulled the ring out of her pocket and took a deep breath as Stella and Emily completed a few other variations of high risk jumps before Stella made her way back next to Paige and Emily went to circle the ring a few more times. Paige got down on one knee and steadied herself on Stella as the lights made a quick change to underwater and two soft spotlights settled on Paige. Paige smiled a little big when she saw the confusion in Emily's eyes at the change of lighting, and the loss of her spotlight. Her smile got even bigger when she made eye contact with Paige who was on one knee in the center of the ring.  
"Emily, would you join me in the center of the ring please?" Paige called through her mic. Emily slid off of Ember and left him there, and Paige subtly signaled for Stella to go stand with Ember. Emily slowly walked towards the center, shock clear on her face.  
"Emily Fields. There are so many things I could say to you right now, but I'm going to keep it short. I'm going to keep it short, because you are my forever and if you'll let me, I'm going to spend our forever telling you all of the reasons why I love you. I love you Emily, and I need your love, I need it more than the air I breathe. You are every sunrise and sunset, the promise of a new day and new beginnings, stunningly beautiful, incredibly funny and you always know what to say when I'm upset. These past six months have been the best of my life, and I want it to be like this for the rest of time so I guess what I'm getting to, is Emily Fields will you marry me?" Paige took a deep breath and pulled the ring out of her pocket and looked towards Emily, who had tears in her eyes. "What do you say Em?" Paige whispered, tears filling her own eyes as she held the ring out to Emily.  
"Yes."  
"Yes?!"  
"Yes! 100 times yes!" Emily exclaimed, as the crowd burst into applause and cheers, although they were almost drowned out by the sound that was coming from backstage where their circus family was cheering.  
Paige stood and pulled Emily into a searing kiss, not caring if Emily's parents where in the front row or not, Emily Fields had said yes and Paige didn't care who knew. They broke the kiss as the cheers died down a little bit and Paige used this opportunity to slip the ring on Emily's finger.  
"Your grandmothers ring?" Emily asked quietly, knowing what that ring meant to Paige.  
"Yes" Paige whispered, as Emily crashed to her for another knee buckling kiss.  
Paige pulled away and turned to the crowd.  
"Thank you everybody for coming out to see the show, we sincerely hope you had a great time. I'm Paige McCullers and this is my fiancé Emily Fields!" Paige cried before turning to kiss Emily again, a moment that would be frozen in time as a part of their forever together.


End file.
